Which term states that a government entity cannot be held liable for injuries caused by a governmental officer's or employee's breach of a duty owed to the general public rather than to the individual plaintiff?

Which term states that a government entity cannot be held liable for injuries caused by a governmental officer's or employee's breach of a duty owed to the general public rather than to the individual plaintiff?

• A. Sovereign Immunity
• B. Public Duty Doctrine
• C. Official Immunity
• D. General Public Rule

Answer: (B)

Public Duty Doctrine says that governments owe duties to the public at large, not to each individual person. Because the duty is owed to the public as a whole, a government entity typically isn’t liable to a single plaintiff for injuries caused by a government officer’s breach of that general duty unless an exception applies—such as a special relationship or a duty that is owed to a particular individual. This concept explains why harm arising from a government function isn’t automatically a personal liability on the government; liability arises only when the duty was specific to the claimant or an exception removes the general-public barrier. Sovereign immunity is a broader protection that the government won’t be sued without consent or a statutory waiver, which is related but not the same idea as the public-duty focus described here. Official immunity protects a government official personally for certain discretionary acts performed in the scope of office, which shifts focus to the individual officer rather than the public-duty relationship. The term General Public Rule isn’t the standard label used for this concept.

Public Duty Doctrine says that governments owe duties to the public at large, not to each individual person. Because the duty is owed to the public as a whole, a government entity typically isn’t liable to a single plaintiff for injuries caused by a government officer’s breach of that general duty unless an exception applies—such as a special relationship or a duty that is owed to a particular individual. This concept explains why harm arising from a government function isn’t automatically a personal liability on the government; liability arises only when the duty was specific to the claimant or an exception removes the general-public barrier.

Sovereign immunity is a broader protection that the government won’t be sued without consent or a statutory waiver, which is related but not the same idea as the public-duty focus described here. Official immunity protects a government official personally for certain discretionary acts performed in the scope of office, which shifts focus to the individual officer rather than the public-duty relationship. The term General Public Rule isn’t the standard label used for this concept.